Chlorine Gas Leak in Mumbai: 3 Die, Over 70 in Hospital

In an unfortunate incident in the wee hours (0400 IST) of Wednesday morning, chlorine gas leaked from a cylinder in South Mumbai's Sewri area, in India. The gas leakage has been reported to be in the proximity of Lal Bahadur Shastri College.

As per TV reports, the leak was noticed when people residing in that area started complaining of severe eye irritation, vomiting and breathlessness. According to fire brigade officers, among various workers who rushed to the spot to plug the leakage, four fell ill and have been admitted to JJ hospital. Till the latest reports, 8 of the nearly 70 people that have been hospitalized in JJ and KEM hospital are critical, while 3 people have lost their lives, due to chlorine poisoning. Various areas in and around Sewri have been evacuated.

It has to be noted that adjacent to LBS college in Sewri (south centered Mumbai), there is a scrap yard in the Mumbai Port Trust premises. This scrap yard has been possibly linked to chlorine gas leakage. Experts have been rushed to the spot and condition of people admitted to JJ and KEM hospital have been reported to be stable.

Such gas leakage incidents remind us of the severity of pollution and gas leakage risk that the layman is exposed to these days. With urbanization at its peak in Mumbai suburbs, safe measures of gas storage are a necessity. Since Mumbai houses a massive population and is hailed to be the commercial capital of India, it must be ensured that government puts a check on safety measures of chemical factories. Much has been talked about this and the need of hour is some stern action. If commercialization is a reality now, then factories must ensure that suburbs and outskirts area of the city are not prone to excessive pollution or dangers of gas leakage.

Certainly, a long inquiry will tell us the truth behind the chlorine gas leakage however, one can only get horrified to imagine the situation if such incidents occur on a large scale. Definitely, the horrific memories of the deadly Bhopal Gas Tragedy on Dec 3, 1984 come to mind. The judicial courts judgment in the Bhopal gas tragedy incident has been said to be nothing but crocodile tears for Bhopal gas victims.

Although, chlorine gas leakage can be touted to be an incident that was just an accident, it certainly must be a warning bell for the Mumbai municipality, chemical factories, and locations where gases like chlorine are stored for commercial purposes. High vigilance on their part is expected to safeguard hundreds of thousands of lives living close to areas that are more prone to such incidents. Is the government listening and are we willing to work toward establishing a safer environment and place to live in??